Medicare has launched its pilot online personal health records program in South Carolina, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced today.
The program gives thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in the state access to a PHR populated with their hospital and physician claims information. Information on prescription drugs will not be provided, but PHR users can enter information on their prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Through the pilot, CMS hopes to learn more about people’s use of PHRs and how to encourage them to use the tools. Participation in the program is voluntary, but CMS will be promoting it to beneficiaries and physicians.
The PHRs in the pilot project are a product of HealthTrio, which offers employer-sponsored PHRs. The claims data comes from Palmetto GBA, which processes Medicare claims from South Carolina.
Individuals who use the PHRs will find convenient links to Web sites with information relevant to their health conditions, CMS officials said.
The pilot project had been scheduled to begin earlier this year. However, it was slowed by what CMS Chief Information Officer Julie Boughn, speaking at a health information technology conference in February, called “serious security issues.”
CMS has insisted that the PHR contractors, headed by a small Maryland company called QSSI, comply with federal security standards. Its announcement today said strict privacy and security safeguards will protect beneficiary data.
PHR users can share the information in their records with their families and health care providers by designating those individuals as their authorized representatives. Those representatives will receive their own user IDs and passwords.
Medicare offers limited PHRs on its own Web site and is conducting another PHR pilot with seven health plans.
The one-year project in South Carolina began April 4, CMS officials said today. It is open only to those enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare, the original plan.
Government Health IT presents Rick Friedman, director of the division of state systems for the Center for Medicaid and State Operations with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in this recent eSeminar regarding how the federal Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services is partnering with state Medicaid and health and human services officials to bring Medicaid into the digital age. Paul McCloskey, Government Health IT editor, moderates.
